It is hard to believe Natural Health Goodies was started in December 2009 - where does the time go? Rhetorical question don't answer that, unless you know the secret to stopping time so I can get more done in a day in that case please leave a detailed explanation in the comments.

This past year has been an exciting ride for Natural Health at least personally as we have meet many fun and knowledgeable real food bloggers, discovered Nourishing Traditions and even gasp, entered the wild world of Facebook for the first time. (Visit us at our fledgling Earth Friendly Goodies Facebook page and please 'Like' us if you want to read about green and natural health goodies from us and other great bloggers)

For fun and remembrance sake I am listing our top five natural health topics for 2011. There are some interesting tidbits and surprising results, well surprising for me maybe since I've been along for the whole ride. If you are new to Natural Health Goodies maybe you can be as surprised next year.

Without further ado (drum roll please) here are:

The Top Five Natural Health Topics for 2011

1. Wasabi, Spicy Green Goo or Really Good for You?

The number one (and number two as well) post for 2011 was written by our guest author Sandra who loves experimenting with natural traditional foods. In this post she writes about the health benefits of wasabi. At the time she was fighting off a cold and thought maybe wasabi might be good for fighting off colds. If you want to find out what happened check out the post.

2. My Water Kefir Recipe: a Fermentation Experiment

The second most read post for 2011 also by Sandra (I'm starting to get an inferiority complex) was about her water kefir experiment. She shares her experience with making water kefir for the first time as well as many variations and extra ingredients you can try when making your own water kefir. Look for this post to do well in 2012 as well thanks to a mystery Facebook Liker who just shared the post to the tune of 300 extra readers. Thanks mystery Liker! (if it wasn't you pick your favorite post and see if you can beat 300)

3. Is food grade mineral oil really food safe?

A more recent post in 2011 was this little debate over the use of mineral oil on wood cutting boards. You may or may not know that mineral oil is a petroleum product but is widely recommended for use in curing wood cutting boards. Personally I can't see how that could be healthy so I started this debate and a quest for an alternative to mineral oil.

4. Hey Who Stole My Cold? Thieves Oil Strikes Again

Here is a surprise 4th place finisher since this post was written one month after Natural Health Goodies was first started! Just goes to show some information never gets old. Although I think i may go back and give this one a refresher. Thieves oil was pretty unknown for me until I researched this post, but there are many health benefits to using thieves oil. In fact it is claimed to have a 99.96% success rate against airborne bacteria! Read more on the uses for and ingredients in thieves oil, as well as how to make your own in this interesting post.

5. Feline Pine: Best Cat Litter to Alleviate Cat Asthma

Number five is a great post for natural health cat lovers, and a bit of a debate as well on why traditional clay cat litters are very dangerous for our cats (and people too). We've been using Feline Pine for years now after trying many natural or green cat litter options. If you are using Feline Pine you may be surprised to know there is a cheaper option out there that is basically the same thing - read the post to find out more.

So there you go, five fun posts to dip your toes into if you are new to Natural Health Goodies. These top five are based on overall views for the year - if you want to base the top five on number of comments or interaction look at the bottom of the page for the most commented on posts. As always thanks for visiting we certainly love your commnets (even if I can't spell comments). Feel free to like our new Facebook page and share your own natural health goodies.

Have a mighty fine new year from the gang at Natural Health Goodies!

Top 5 Natural Health Topics for 2011 is a post from: Natural Health Goodies

Thieves oil or more properly an essential oil blend coined Thieves (since it is a registered trademark of Young Living Essential Oils™ who sells a wide range of Thieves oil products) has been found by a Weber State University study to have a 99.96% success rate against airborne bacteria. That's a pretty huge claim to make, but many people swear by their Thieves oil recipes and concoctions.

The basic Thieves oil recipe consists of Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon Bark, Eucalyptus and Rosemary. All of these essential oils have powerful healing properties. Cinnamon and clove make a viral infection less likely to occur by fitting the cell receptor sites normally reserved for viruses - just like a puzzle piece - or I suppose more like a wad of chewing gum and the underside of a park bench. I know from experience that clove oil is exceptional at fighting off colds after trying a natural toothpaste that includes clove and other bacteria fighting ingredients.

Many people already know about lemon's antiseptic properties since it is used in cleaning products everywhere. According to Jean Valnet, MD, the vaporized essence of lemon can kill meningococcus bacteria in 15 minutes, typhoid bacilli in one hour, Staphylococcus aureus in two hours, and Pneumococcus bacteria within three hours. Even a 0.2% solution of lemon oil can kill diphtheria bacteria in 20 minutes and inactivate tuberculosis. (as stated in the book Essential Oils Desk Reference) Wow! Once you get past the tongue twisting barrage of scientific terms there lemon seems like a miracle cure.

Rosemary helps protect against and destroy bad bacteria, yeasts and fungi - and we're not talking the fungi from your monster Angus beef, onion and Shiitake burger, more like the fungi crawling between your toes after a fast paced game of basketball. (sorry to those of you who just enjoyed a Shiitake burger, didn't mean to ruin your fine meal - although you know if you have a bit of bad breath from the onion a bit of Thieves oil might just clear that up)

And let's not leave out Eucalyptus since it is quite the little gamer itself. We all know about the stimulating aroma of Eucalyptus and its known properties for helping relieve cold and flu symptoms, but it is also adept as an antibacterial and helps stimulate the immune system, It acts as an anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and even analgesic. (that last really isn't as dirty as it sounds - it just means pain killer - man get your mind out of the gutter).

When you slip all these powerhouse essential oils into a bottle and give it a catchy name like Thieves Oil (with a sordid myth based potentially on the truth) you have a natural remedy winner on your hands. There are a billion and one uses for Thieves oil from use as a household cleaner, mold destroyer, cold fighter, hand sanitizer and even treating or preventing the common flu or H1N1 Swine Flu. Since Thieves oil is safe for ingestion a few drops can be added to your toothbrush to fight bacteria in the mouth and on the toothbrush itself.

You can make up an easy Thieves oil recipe your self by mixing 1-tablespoon each of Clove Oil and Lemon Oil, 2 1/2-teaspoons of Cinnamon Oil and 2-teaspoons of Rosemary Oil and Eucalyptus Oil with a cup of Jojoba oil or other carrier oil.

If you aren't a DIY apothecary type you can always find plenty of good deals on pre-made Thieves Oil at your local natural health store or patiently look for a good sale on ebay.

Hey Who Stole My Cold? Thieves Oil Strikes Again is a post from: Natural Health Goodies